Harley Davidson Mechanic pay

bearslayer2829 · Feb 10, 2013

Thinking about going to MMI down in Orlando, FL and was wondering if anybody know's how much the Harley mechanic's get paid around the East Tennessee area.

John Galbreath Jr. · Feb 10, 2013

Call a couple of local dealerships and tell them what you are thinking of doing. They could tell you of possible job openings and pay.

dhallmark · Feb 10, 2013

Think it through before doing the MMI thing. I ran a big motorcycle dealership down near the coast in Daphne, Al. for about 3 1/2 years and hired three different guys from MMI and only one of them was capable of working on an engine. The other two couldn't even figure out which end of a screwdriver to hold. The one that was a decent wrench said he taught himself how to work on bikes. Said he just went to MMI cause he thought it would help him get a higher paying job sooner. He said they really only taught them the most basic stuff like oil changes and basic assembly. Cost him about 20 grand I think. He said it was a total waste of cash. Most of the other dealerships that I dealt with had the same luck with MMI graduates. Just my opinion for what it's worth.

bearslayer2829 · Feb 10, 2013

dhallmark said:
Think it through before doing the MMI thing. I ran a big motorcycle dealership down near the coast in Daphne, Al. for about 3 1/2 years and hired three different guys from MMI and only one of them was capable of working on an engine. The other two couldn't even figure out which end of a screwdriver to hold. The one that was a decent wrench said he taught himself how to work on bikes. Said he just went to MMI cause he thought it would help him get a higher paying job sooner. He said they really only taught them the most basic stuff like oil changes and basic assembly. Cost him about 20 grand I think. He said it was a total waste of cash. Most of the other dealerships that I dealt with had the same luck with MMI graduates. Just my opinion for what it's worth.

I've worked on bikes since I was a kid, I was helping my dad but was still there watching and learned alot so I have a good knowledge on how to work on a bike. Im like the one guy you speak of that said he thought it would help get a higher paying job, that is my whole reasoning for going. It would cost me anything to go there because i'll be using my Montgomery GI Bill to pay for all of it. Appreciate the opinion tho. Would you recommend me just applying for the job and starting out as a helper and work my way up that way then?

dhallmark · Feb 10, 2013

Yeah I think you could get up the chain just as quick. We didn't really start them at a higher rate than anyone else. Let them do a month to see if they were any good then reevaluated their pay. I will say that the dealership I ran ran was not a harley dealership. We sold everything but harley. I don't think the harley shops feel any different about MMI though.